Wisconsin Banking Rates and News

Dupaco Community Credit Union is offering two CD specials with very competitive rates: 1.91% APY for 35 months and 1.30% APY for 15 months. Minimum deposit is $5,000. The credit union also has competitive rates on its standard long-term CDs. The two best are a 2.41% APY 5-year CD and a 2.01% APY 4-year CD. These rates are listed in the credit union's certificate rates page as of 2/9/2012.

Dupaco used to have a good deal on its High-Yield Savings Account. It's still a good deal for those who already have this...

Central Bank is offering four CD specials with competitive rates. These are a 2.10% APY 59-month CD, a 1.25% APY 25-month CD, a 1.00% APY 17-month CD and a 0.85% APY 11-month CD. Minimum deposit is $1,000, and the maximum is $100,000. These special rates are listed at the bottom of the bank's Minnesota rates page as of 1/24/2012. I was told these also apply to the bank's Florida branch.

A branch visit is required to open an account. Most of Central Bank branches are located in Minnesota and Wisconsin in the Minneapolis/St. Paul...

AnchorBank is offering up to $150 for opening any new personal checking account and performing certain activities. This is a nice upgrade from last year's promotion which had just a $100 bonus. This offer is listed in the bank's promotion page. It's scheduled to end on 4/15/2012.

The required activities include:

• $50 for opening a checking account
• $50 for setting up direct deposit
• $50 for making three debit card purchases

The direct deposit and debit card purchases must be completed within 60 days of account opening. Existing checking account customers are not eligible for the bonus. Another important note...

I had missed this before the holidays, but it looks like a new reward checking account with a competitive rate and balance cap. It's being offered by Nicolet National Bank in Wisconsin. There are some signs that it's open to all. I've sent a message to the bank, and I'll update this post when I receive a reply. The bank calls the account the Real Rewards Checking, and it has the following rates and features if certain monthly requirements are met (as of 12/02/2011):

• 3.00% APY on balances up to $25,000
• 0.50% APY on portion of balance over...

On Friday US Bank did something that's rare these days. It raised the rate of its competitive long-term CD. The rate of the 59-month CD special increased from 2.00% to 2.25% APY. The two other special CDs with shorter terms are not nearly as competitive. One is a 1.25% APY 37-month CD and the other is a 1.01% APY 19-month CD. Minimum deposit is $1,000, and the maximum is $249,999. These rates are listed in US Bank's CD page as of 10/31/2011. Rates could change at any time, but they typically change on Friday mornings.

If you're leaving your megabank, here's one reason to choose a community bank instead of a credit union. Community Bank and Trust continues to offer a very competitive reward checking account that it calls PowerInterest Checking. I first reviewed this account in January 2010. One nice change is that they now have an online application which appears to allow all Wisconsin residents to apply. One nice thing that has not changed is the rate and balance cap. It has the following rates and features if certain monthly requirements are met (as of 10/28/2011):

• 3.05% APY on balances up to...

PNC Bank's Virtual Wallet has changed quite a bit since I first reviewed it in 2009. The good news is that it's still easy to keep it free without monthly fees. Considering how many of the large banks have added monthly fees and debit card fees to their checking accounts, PNC's Virtual Wallet is noteworthy. The bad news is that you don't get rewarded like you used to. Another downside is that it has become more complicated. Virtual Wallet has never been simple. It's composed of three different accounts:

• Spend Account (checking)
• Reserve Account (for short-term savings & overdraft protection)
• Growth...

Update 1/20/2012: PNC has extended the promotion to 1/31/2012. Here's the new promotion page link. Also note, the full $100 bonus no longer requires the use of online bill pay.

PNC Bank has another $100 bonus for opening a new qualifying checking account and for performing certain activities. This is being advertised on their home page. Here's the direct link to their promo page. The offer is scheduled to end on 10/22/2011. Here's a summary of the requirements for the first $75:

• Open a new Virtual Wallet Performance or other select PNC Personal...

Bank of the West has just started a new checking account promotion with a $100 bonus that's scheduled to last until 9/16/2011. Here's the link to the offer. Unlike previous Bank of the West promotions, this one requires direct deposit. There doesn't seem to be online bill pay option. Like previous promotions, only those who reside in their market area are eligible (see below for the eligible states). The bank is still advertising a free checking account with no monthly service charges or monthly fees. This is becoming rare for large banks.

Below is the...

Dupaco Community Credit Union is offering two CD specials with very competitive rates: 2.11% APY for 35 months and 1.51% APY for 15 months. Minimum deposit is $5,000. These rates are listed in the credit union's deposit rates page as of 6/15/2011.

Dupaco used to have a good deal on its High-Yield Savings Account. It's still a good deal for those who already have this account. The top yield is 1.76% APY for a $200K balance. However, Dupaco is no longer allowing members to open new accounts. The Investors Choice Money Market...

Update 10/31/2011: The promotion has been extended. However, it now requires 15 qualifying transactions.

TCF Bank is offering a $100 cash bonus for opening a checking account and performing 10 qualifying transactions within 60 calendar days of account opening. The offer is scheduled to end on Dec 31, 2011 June 30, 2011. No direct deposit is required. This special is listed at TCF’s home page. The details are provided in this TCF promotions page. Below is the promotion’s small print:

Offer applies to TCF non-interest bearing checking accounts. The account must have a total of 10...

Altra Federal Credit Union continues to offer a competitive special 18-month CD. The top rate is 2.00% APY. This requires a checking account with direct deposit. Otherwise, the rate falls to 1.50% APY. Minimum deposit is $1,000. These rates are listed in the credit union's rates page as of 4/27/2011.

Here's how the small print describes the step-up and add-on features of this special CD:

Step Up Certificate allows a one-time rate change based on the then advertised rate for same term. Along with one-time rate change, you may also make an additional deposit to the...